A Tale of Three

The two remaining Silkies
and the lone guinea
of its litter
have been living together
in an outdoor pen at the barn.
They’ve grown up
together.
Now that they’re old enough
to fend for themselves
with the rest of the guinea and chicken
community,
we have opened the door
to the barn.
We did this a few weeks ago
and learned they weren’t old enough
to fend for themselves
against a family of possums.
The possum family
has been removed
(and haven’t found their way back,
thankfully.)
So we opened the door again.
It was days
before the three crossed the threshold,
and the Silkies have yet
to venture out the barn door
into the alpaca pasture.
The guinea—we call him “Eight,”
since he is our eighth—
has dashed out,
joined up briefly with the other guineas,
and found his way back.
But these three
seem to be a community
unto themselves.
The other chickens and guineas
come and go
from barn to pasture
and back,
keeping to their own species.
The other seven guineas chase each other,
as “Eight” chases the black Silkie.
The chickens
have a more peaceable kin-dom.
“Eight” never chases the white Silkie,
which is a rooster,
and they are almost always
standing or sitting side-by-side.
The other chickens
and guineas
leave the three alone
and have nothing
to do with them.
It is fascinating to watch:
the strength of the bonding
between the members of two species
that grew up together;
the non-inclusion
of newcomers within their own species.
Out-of-the-pen,
they are.